Franken, Reid Look to Lower Expectations for 60 Seats
Roll Call Staff
Both Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Sen.-elect Al Franken (D-Minn.) on Monday sought to downplay the power of a filibuster-proof majority on the eve of Franken’s swearing-in as the 60th member of the Senate Democratic Conference.
Reid said that having a majority large enough to squelch GOP filibusters would not embolden Democrats to try to jam measures through the chamber, and he appealed to the 40-Member Republican Conference to engage in bipartisan talks on legislation.
“Democrats aren’t looking to Sen. Franken’s election as an opportunity to ram legislation through this body,” Reid said as he welcomed Franken to Washington, D.C., for the first time since last week’s Minnesota Supreme Court ruling that Franken had bested former Sen. Norm Coleman (R) in the November 2008 election.
“In turn, Senate Republicans must understand that Sen.-elect Franken’s election does not abdicate from them their responsibilities to govern,” Reid continued. “It’s up to them to decide whether they’ll continue to sit down and be the ‘party of no’ or sit down and work for the common good of the people. It’s up to them.”
Franken also tried to minimize the effect he will have on the Democrats’ agenda.
“A lot has been made of this number 60,” Franken said. “The number I’m focused on is the number 2. I see myself as the second Senator from the state of Minnesota.”
But both men read from similar scripts in vowing to, as Reid put it, “help deliver on the change that this country is demanding.” Franken and Reid cited health care reform, energy independence and economic recovery as top items on their agenda. Franken, however, added education to his to-do list.
Franken is due to be sworn in as the 100th Senator at 12:15 p.m. Tuesday. The Senate has been operating with just 99 Senators since the 111th Congress began in January.
Though the Minnesota canvassing board in January certified Franken the winner by 312 votes following a recount, the legal wrangling over the race did not end until the state Supreme Court ruled last week. Coleman declined to take the case to federal court as some Republicans had urged him to do.
Taylor: Preventing Another Underwear Bomber
March 19, 4:09 p.m.
The intelligence community faces challenges daily. No example is more emblematic of the problems faced than the so-called underwear bomber of 2009. As threats emerge, the hunt for “persons of interest” must occur in a more reliable and efficient manner because the consequences of inaction can be catastrophic. Read Full Article
Roll Call Video Channels
